糖心原创

Centre for Applied Bioethics
 

Robert Atterbury

Associate Professor in Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

Contact

  • workRoom B70 School of Veterinary Medicine and Science
    Sutton Bonington Campus
    Sutton Bonington
    Leicestershire
    LE12 5RD
    UK
  • work0115 951 6088

Biography

Robert Atterbury graduated from the 糖心原创 with a BSc in Biology, an MRes in Bioinformatics, a PhD in Microbiology and a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE). Following postdoctoral research at the University of Bristol investigating zoonotic pathogens including Campylobacter, Escherichia coli and Salmonella, he returned to Nottingham as a Research Fellow studying the use of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus to control Salmonella in poultry. Since joining the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science in 2010, his research has focused on bacteriophages and other biological approaches to controlling bacterial pathogens. His group has been continuously funded by the British Council, European Union, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Innovate UK, Global Challenge Research Fund as well as industrial partners. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB) in 2025.

Expertise Summary

Robert Atterbury is Associate Professor of Veterinary Microbiology. He co-convenes the Year 3 Veterinary Public Health module and is co-lead of the School's Strategic Research Area in Antimicrobial Resistance and One Health.

His research focuses on the use of bacteriophages, predatory bacteria and other biological approaches to combat antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic pathogens. He leads an active research group of postdoctoral researchers and postgraduate students and welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD students and research collaborators in the areas of biocontrol, antimicrobial resistance, pathogen genomics, metagenomics, machine learning/AI applications in microbiology.

Research Summary

Dr. Atterbury's research focuses on developing biological alternatives to antibiotics, including bacteriophages and predatory bacteria, to control bacterial pathogens of veterinary and public health… read more

Selected Publications

  • COLOM, JOAN, BATISTA, DIEGO, BAIG, ABIYAD, TANG, YING, LIU, SIYANG, YUAN, FANGZHONG, BELKHIRI, AOUATIF, MARCELINO, LUCAS, BARBOSA, FERNANDA, RUBIO, MARCELA and OTHERS, 2019. Sex pilus specific bacteriophage to drive bacterial population towards antibiotic sensitivity Scientific Reports. 9(1), 1-11
  • SARKAR, SOUNAK, DAS, MAYUKH, BHOWMICK, TUSHAR SUVRA, KOLEY, HEMANTA, ATTERBURY, ROBERT, CHAKRABARTI, ALOK K and SARKAR, BANWARILAL L, 2018. Journal of global infectious diseases. 10(2), 84
  • BHANDARE, SUDHAKAR, COLOM, JOAN, BAIG, ABIYAD, RITCHIE, JENNY M, BUKHARI, HABIB, SHAH, MUHAMMAD A, SARKAR, BANWARILAL L, SU, JINGLIANG, WREN, BRENDAN, BARROW, PAUL and OTHERS, 2018. Reviving Phage Therapy for the Treatment of Cholera The Journal of infectious diseases. 219(5), 786-794
  • BAIG, A., COLOM, J., BARROW, P., SCHOULER, C., MOODLEY, A., LAVIGNE, R. and ATTERBURY, R., 2017. Frontiers in Microbiology. 8, 1652

Current Research

Dr. Atterbury's research focuses on developing biological alternatives to antibiotics, including bacteriophages and predatory bacteria, to control bacterial pathogens of veterinary and public health importance.

By combining microbiology, genomics, bioinformatics and machine learning, his group investigates innovative approaches to tackling antimicrobial resistance, improving food safety and supporting animal health through a One Health framework.

Past Research

Previously, Dr. Atterbury worked as a Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, where he investigated the epidemiology of Campylobacter and Salmonella in UK poultry flocks. During this time he was also involved in a number of collaborations between academia and industry in the areas of meat and process hygiene, vaccine delivery, competitive exclusion and bacteriophage therapy.

  • COLOM, JOAN, BAIG, ABIYAD, KALMAR, LAJOS, BELKHIRI, AOUATIF, TRAVERS, ANNABEL, GIGANTE, ADRIANO MARCELO, CONNERTON, PHILLIPPA L, CONNERTON, IAN F, GRANT, ANDREW JAMES, HOLMES, MARK and OTHERS, 2026. The pig as a preclinical model for human phage therapy of polybacterial enteric infections Frontiers in Microbiology. 17, 1857948
  • PERFILYEV, ALEXANDER, G脝DE, ANASTASIYA, HOOTON, STEVE, ZAHRAN, SARA A, KALATZIS, PANOS G, WINTHER-HAVE, CAROLINE SOPHIE, IBARRA CHAVEZ, RODRIGO, WILKINSON, RACHAEL C, THANKI, ANISHA M, LIU, ZHENGJIE and OTHERS, 2026. Large-scale analysis of bacterial genomes reveals thousands of lytic phages Nature microbiology. 11(1), 42-52
  • ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, GIGANTE, ADRIANO M, JALASVUORI, MATTI, LAVIGNE, ROBERT, SCHOULER, CATHERINE, MARIANO, VALERIA and BARROW, PAUL, 2026. The application of bacteriophage to veterinary and One-Health medicine鈥攁 road map Frontiers in Microbiology. 16, 1725071
  • SECKER, BAILEY, SHAW, STEPHEN, HOBLEY, LAURA and ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, 2025. Genomic and phenotypic characterisation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from canine otitis externa reveals high-risk sequence types identical to those found in human nosocomial infections Frontiers in Microbiology. 16, 1526843
  • BLANCHARD, ADAM M, SECKER, BAILEY, ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, WINDLE, SAMANTHA J, DONG, HA THANH, WONGKAEW, JANCHAI, DIEN, LE THANH, HUCHZERMEYER, DAVID, HANG'OMBE, BERNARD MUDENDA and SENAPIN, SAENGCHAN, 2025. Comparative Genomics of Lactococcus spp. From Global Aquaculture Outbreaks Reveals Virulence Determinants, Antibiotic Resistance, and Phage Defence Mechanisms MicrobiologyOpen. 14(6), e70147
  • SECKER, BAILEY, NAYAK, AMIT, HUSAIN, ALIABBAS A, ARORA, SUDIPTI, NAG, ADITI, SHRIVASTAVA, SANDEEP K, SINGER, ANDREW C, GOMES, RACHEL L, ACHEAMPONG, EDWARD, CHIDAMBARAM, SARAVANA B and OTHERS, 2025. Metagenomic insights into the urban-rural variation of antimicrobial resistance and pathogen reservoirs in untreated wastewater from central India Frontiers in Microbiology. 16, 1722229
  • ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, GIGANTE, ADRIANO M, JALASVUORI, MATTI, LAVIGNE, ROBERT, SCHOULER, CATHERINE, MARIANO, VALERIA and BARROW, PAUL, 2025. The application of bacteriophage to veterinary and One-Health medicine鈥攁 road map Frontiers in Microbiology. 16, 1725071
  • GIGANTE, ADRIANO M, HADIS, MOHAMMAD A, SECKER, BAILEY, SHAW, STEPHEN C, COOPER, PAUL R, PALIN, WILLIAM M, MILWARD, MICHAEL R and ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, 2024. Exposure to blue light reduces antimicrobial resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from dog ear infections Frontiers in microbiology. 15, 1414412
  • ATTERBURY, R, 2023. Biological control of salmonella in the poultry industry-A European perspective In: Australian Poult Sci Symp. 136
  • DLAMINI, SICELO B, GIGANTE, ADRIANO M, HOOTON, STEVEN PT and ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, 2023. Efficacy of different encapsulation techniques on the viability and stability of diverse phage under simulated gastric conditions Microorganisms. 11(10), 2389
  • SECKER, BAILEY, SHAW, STEPHEN and ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, 2023. Pseudomonas spp. in Canine Otitis Externa Microorganisms. 11(11), 2650
  • NICOLAS, MARIANNE, TROTEREAU, ANG脡LINA, CULOT, ANTOINE, MOODLEY, ARSHNEE, ATTERBURY, ROBERT, WAGEMANS, JEROEN, LAVIGNE, ROB, VELGE, PHILIPPE and SCHOULER, CATHERINE, 2023. Isolation and characterization of a novel phage collection against avian-pathogenic Escherichia coli Microbiology Spectrum. 11(3), e04296-22
  • THANKI, ANISHA M, MIGNARD, GUILLAUME, ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, BARROW, PAUL, MILLARD, ANDREW D and CLOKIE, MARTHA RJ, 2022. Prophylactic delivery of a bacteriophage cocktail in feed significantly reduces Salmonella colonization in pigs Microbiology spectrum. 10(3), e00422-22
  • ATTERBURY, ROBERT J and TYSON, JESS, 2021. Predatory bacteria as living antibiotics-where are we now? Microbiology. 167(1), 001025
  • THANKI, ANISHA M, HOOTON, STEVE, GIGANTE, ADRIANO M, ATTERBURY, ROBERT J and CLOKIE, MARTHA RJ, 2021. Potential roles for bacteriophages in reducing Salmonella from poultry and swine. In: Salmonella spp.-a global challenge IntechOpen.
  • ATTERBURY, ROBERT J and BARROW, PAUL A, 2021. The use of bacteriophages in veterinary therapy. In: Bacteriophages: biology, technology, therapy Springer International Publishing Cham. 953-987
  • BARROW, PAUL, NAIR, VENUGOPAL, BAIGENT, SUSAN, ATTERBURY, ROBERT and CLARK, MICHAEL, 2021. Poultry health: a guide for professionals Cabi.
  • ATTERBURY, R J, GIGANTE, A M, TINKER, D, HOWELL, M and ALLEN, V M, 2020. An improved cleaning system to reduce microbial contamination of poultry transport crates in the UK. Journal of applied microbiology.
  • HOBLEY, LAURA, SUMMERS, J KIMBERLEY, TILL, ROB, MILNER, DAVID S, ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, STROUD, AMY, CAPENESS, MICHAEL J, GRAY, STEPHANIE, LEIDENROTH, ANDREAS, LAMBERT, CAREY, CONNERTON, IAN, TWYCROSS, JAMIE, BAKER, MICHELLE, TYSON, JESS, KREFT, JAN-ULRICH and SOCKETT, R ELIZABETH, 2020. Journal of Bacteriology. 202(6), e00629-19
  • BROWN, HELEN L, METTERS, GEORGIE, HITCHINGS, MATTHEW D, WILKINSON, THOMAS S, SOUSA, LUIS, COOPER, JENNA, DANCE, HARRY, ATTERBURY, ROBERT J and JENKINS, ROWENA, 2020. Antibacterial and antivirulence activity of Manuka Honey against genetically diverse Staphylococcus pseudintermedius strains Applied and environmental microbiology. 86(20), e01768-20
  • ATTERBURY, ROBERT JOSEPH, GIGANTE, ADRIANO MARCELO, RUBIO LOZANO, MAR脥A DE LA SALUD, MENDEZ MEDINA, RUBEN DANILO, ROBINSON, GARETH, ALLOUSH, HABIB, BARROW, PAUL ANDREW and ALLEN, VIVIEN MARY, 2020. Reduction of Salmonella contamination on the surface of chicken skin using bacteriophage Virology journal. 17(1), 98
  • COLOM, JOAN, BATISTA, DIEGO, BAIG, ABIYAD, TANG, YING, LIU, SIYANG, YUAN, FANGZHONG, BELKHIRI, AOUATIF, MARCELINO, LUCAS, BARBOSA, FERNANDA, RUBIO, MARCELA and OTHERS, 2019. Sex pilus specific bacteriophage to drive bacterial population towards antibiotic sensitivity Scientific Reports. 9(1), 1-11
  • GIGANTE A and ATTERBURY RJ, 2019. Virology journal. 16(1), 155
  • SARKAR, SOUNAK, DAS, MAYUKH, BHOWMICK, TUSHAR SUVRA, KOLEY, HEMANTA, ATTERBURY, ROBERT, CHAKRABARTI, ALOK K and SARKAR, BANWARILAL L, 2018. Journal of global infectious diseases. 10(2), 84
  • BHANDARE, SUDHAKAR, COLOM, JOAN, BAIG, ABIYAD, RITCHIE, JENNY M, BUKHARI, HABIB, SHAH, MUHAMMAD A, SARKAR, BANWARILAL L, SU, JINGLIANG, WREN, BRENDAN, BARROW, PAUL and OTHERS, 2018. Reviving Phage Therapy for the Treatment of Cholera The Journal of infectious diseases. 219(5), 786-794
  • BAIG, A., COLOM, J., BARROW, P., SCHOULER, C., MOODLEY, A., LAVIGNE, R. and ATTERBURY, R., 2017. Frontiers in Microbiology. 8, 1652
  • SARAVANAN, SELLAPPAN, PURUSHOTHAMAN, VENKETARAMAN, MURTHY, THIPPICHETTYPALAYAM RAMASAMY GOPALA KRISHNA, SUKUMAR, KUPPANNAN, SRINIVASAN, PALANI, GOWTHAMAN, VASUDEVAN, BALUSAMY, MOHAN, ATTERBURY, ROBERT and KUCHIPUDI, SURESH V, 2015. Indian journal of microbiology. 55(3), 319-326
  • MAINE, ISABELLA R, ATTERBURY, ROBERT and CHANG, KIN-CHOW, 2015. Investigation into the animal species contents of popular wet pet foods Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica. 57(1), 1
  • ELLIS-IVERSEN, J., RIDLEY, A., MORRIS, V., SOWA, A., HARRIS, J., ATTERBURY, R., SPARKS, N. and ALLEN, V., 2012. Epidemiology and Infection. 140(5), 916-924
  • HOBLEY L, LERNER TR, WILLIAMS LE, LAMBERT C, TILL R, MILNER DS, BASFORD SM, CAPENESS MJ, FENTON AK, ATTERBURY RJ, HARRIS MATS and SOCKETT RE, 2012. BMC genomics. 13, 670
  • ATTERBURY, R.J., HOBLEY, L., TILL, R., LAMBERT, C., CAPENESS, M.J., LERNER, T.R., FENTON, A.K., BARROW, P. and SOCKETT, R.E., 2011. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 77(16), 5794-803
  • HOOTON, S.P.T., ATTERBURY, R.J. and CONNERTON, I.F., 2011. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 151(2), 157-63
  • ATTERBURY, R.J., MORRIS, V., HARRISON, D., TUCKER, V., ALLEN, V.M., DAVIES, R.H. and CARRIQUE-MAS, J.J., 2010. Veterinary Record. 167(5), 161-164
  • ATTERBURY RJ, 2009. Microbial Biotechnology. 2(6), 601-12
  • ATTERBURY, R.J., ALLEN, V.M., CARRIQUE-MAS, J.J. and DAVIES, R.H., 2009. Veterinary Record. 165(17), 493-496
  • ALLEN VM, WHYTE RT, BURTON CH, HARRIS JA, LOVELL RDL, ATTERBURY RJ and TINKER DB, 2008. British Poultry Science. 49(4), 423-8
  • CONNERTON, I.F., CONNERTON, P.L., BARROW, P., SEAL, B.S. and ATTERBURY, R.J., 2008. Bacteriophage therapy and Campylobacter. In: NACHAMKIN, I., SZYMANSKI, C.M. and BLASER, M.J., eds., Campylobacter 3rd. ASM Press. 679-693
  • ATTERBURY, R J, VAN BERGEN, M A P, ORTIZ, F, LOVELL, M A, HARRIS, J A, DE BOER, A, WAGENAAR, J A, ALLEN, V M and BARROW, P A, 2007. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 73(14), 4543-9
  • ATTERBURY, R. J., DILLON, E., SWIFT, C., CONNERTON, P. L., FROST, J. A., DODD, C. E. R., REES, C. E. D. and CONNERTON, I. F., 2005. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. VOL 71(NUMB 8), 4885-4887
  • CARRILLO, C.L., ATTERBURY, R.J., EL-SHIBINY, A., CONNERTON, P.L., DILLON, E., SCOTT, A. and CONNERTON, I.F., 2005. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 71(11), 6554-6563
  • ATTERBURY RJ, CONNERTON PL, DODD CER, REES CED and CONNERTON IF, 2003. Applied And Environmental Microbiology. 69(10), 6302-6
  • ATTERBURY RJ, CONNERTON PL, DODD CER, REES CED and CONNERTON IF, 2003. Applied And Environmental Microbiology. 69(8), 4511-8
  • WALLIS, G. L. F., SWIFT, R. J., ATTERBURY, R., TRAPPE, S., RINAS, U., HEMMING, F. W., WIEBE, M. G., TRINCI, A. P. J. and PEBERDY, J. F., 2001. The effect of pH on glucoamylase production, glycosylation and chemostat evolution of Aspergillus niger: Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta-General Subjects Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta-General Subjects. 1527(3), 112-122

Centre for Applied Bioethics

The 糖心原创
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science
Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD


telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 6116
email: Email our Research Theme Leader